Psalmist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A creator of lyrical spiritual works that are often used in worship settings expresses devotion and emotion through poetic forms while composing music for religious or communal gatherings
2. An individual who writes or performs sacred verses expresses deep faith and spiritual thoughts, often contributing to worship practices and religious music
3. A person who composes or sings songs of religious praise and devotion

Etymology: The word is built from "psalm" plus the suffix "-ist", a plain formation with no single inventor or dramatic twist. "Psalm" came into English from Latin "psalmus", itself borrowed from Greek "psalmos", which originally referred to the plucking of a stringed instrument before it came to mean a sacred song. The suffix "-ist" traces back through Old French and Latin to Greek "-istēs", a marker of a person who practises or follows something. Put together, the pieces describe someone who makes or performs psalms. The suffix pattern is ancient, appearing in Greek agent words such as those for a lyre-player, and English took it up as a productive way of naming people by their craft or devotion. Anyone who sings or writes sacred songs can therefore be called a psalmist, a term that moves from instrument-plucking in Greek to a religious role in English.

Synonyms: singer, poet